Enjoyable Friday: Bama in pads for first time

Alabama held its third observe of fall camp Friday in Tuscaloosa. It was the Tide’s first day in pads.

Alabama defensive coordinator Kane Wommack says Bama was round 14th within the SEC the final two seasons in defensive position measurement. He’s proud of the place the unit is now.

“I think we have improved our physicality up front,” Wommack stated. “I think we’ve improved in our consistency as a defensive line unit. And we’ve gotten bigger. The last two years here we’ve been 14th in the SEC in D-line frames up front. I think this year, we’re fourth or fifth. We’ve worked really hard to get ourselves back in a position where we can be a big, physical defensive line. We’ve done some good things defensively here. At times, I think we’ve been really good, but to be a dominant defense, you have to have guys up front that can make a difference.”

For Wommack, the reasoning is fairly easy.

“Big bodies matter, right? You know, mass kicks ass,” Wommack stated. “When you have big frames that have length and being able to strike people, but also when they’re getting a double team, right, just sheer mass matters.”

Wommack believes Alabama is now trending towards turning into the kind of defensive entrance crucial to provide an elite protection.

“I think we have improved our physicality there up front,” Wommack stated. “I think we’ve improved in our consistency as a defensive line unit. And then we’ve simply gotten bigger.”

Friday’s exercise began at 9:45 a.m. and was the third in a sequence of 18 camp practices for the Tide because the staff prepares for the 2026 season opener towards East Carolina.

Alabama will host the Pirates at Bryant-Denny Stadium on Sept. 5 with kickoff scheduled for 11 a.m. on ABC.